Hard to Handle was the hit song of the moment and I was spinning it as a young DJ at Lloyd’s Recreation, a rollerskating rink and Calgary landmark that sadly recently closed. I was 17 and didn’t realize the ‘hit’ was a cover. A few other tracks on The Black Crowes first album, Shake Your Money Maker, caught my ear but then they kind of disappeared. Their second album, The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion came out but it didn’t really grab me.

Years passed, then sometime in the 2000s, I hit upon The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion again, and, wow… Age and maturity was needed to appreciate this one it seems. Much like Catcher in the Rye read at 15-years-of-age wasn’t fully grasped, this album escaped me during first listens at a young age.

The Crowes second release, it came out on May 12, 1992 and went on to spawn four hit singles. This album reminds me a lot of old Rolling Stones albums and rock albums of the seventies. I’ll stop here and let you decide – sit back – have a listen – and enjoy.

I came upon this album some years ago on a list of top albums of some sort or genre. I listened to pieces of it here and there, forgot about it, then when DJ Shadow’s Nobody Speak track came out in 2016, I was knocked-out and it spurred me to revisit Entroducing…..

Released on September 16, 1996, he set out to create an album composed entirely samples. DJ Shadow spent two years crafting the tracks and it’s since been heralded by many as the best sample-based album ever made. Most samples are quite obscure but there are many by more prominent artists such as Björk and Metallica.

His studio set-up was minimal, with only three primary pieces of equipment being used in making the album: an Akai MPC60 sampler, a Technics SL-1200 turntable and an Alesis ADAT tape recorder. He became a master with the Akai – crediting it with the end-sound of the album.

This is a different album, one I find that requires me to be in the right mood to get all the way through in a single session, but is incredibly creative and unique. Enjoy the journey…..

I have to admit that our little group is on a great streak of great albums to review and our member Scott Coates from Bangkok, Thailand did not disappoint. Public Enemy's It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back blew the doors and speakers open with it's extremely raw sound and messages. Have a listen to our review and find out just how influential this album was, how much sampling happened and what 4 white Canadian boys think of this fun ride. Yeah.... boy!!!!
Ps. I feel like we didn't give enough credit to the other members of PE. Though Chuck D is the leader all these greats contributed: Harry Allen, Chuck D, Fab 5 Freddy, Flavor Flav, Erica Johnson, Oris Josphe, Professor Griff

I’ve recently been listening to concerts and tracks (Unfuck the World – amazing video) from the newly formed super-group Prophets of Rage and been enjoying them a good deal. Pumped for their album coming out in September 15, 2017. I also re-watched an episode of Dave Grohl’s Sonic Highways where Public Enemy frontman Chuck D is interviewed and it got me to thinking about Public Enemy. I realized I’d never listened to one of their albums in full. Well it’s time.

It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back was released in June 1988 by Def Jam Recordings and was the band’s second studio album. It quickly went on to be named by many to be the best album of the year and has continued to grow in significance since then. The lyrics are poignant and it represents a snapshot of America in the late eighties. Strap in for a rap journey that’s regarded as one of the greatest of the genre…

I’m Canadian, love music, know Neil Young, but strangely have never listened to an entire Neil Young album. While watching music documentary Sound City for the fifth or sixth time, Young was featured and mentioned recording some of After the Gold Rush at the studio and I had my pick for March 2017. It’s time to dive in and get a complete taste of one of Canada’s most famous musical exports.

This is the third studio album by Young and he’s backed by Crazy Horse. The album was originally written as a soundtrack for a movie script by the same name that never got produced. Initial reception was weak but it’s gone on to become one of Young’s most famous albums. Lets see what’s inside?! Listen to why I selected this album and listen with us at The Sonic Collective.

Confession – I like Frank Sinatra. While selecting a live album I was really torn. I listened to some really great live albums (see them at the bottom) and was leaning towards a rock album. I then got to looking at Rolling Stone’s list of best live albums of all time and saw this one, Sinatra at the Sands. The songs themselves weren’t the big draw, rather that he was backed by Count Basie’s orchestra and legendary Quincy Jones conducted the concert. Wow – talk about a ton of huge music names on one album.

Then I got to listening and Frank’s personality really comes through – what a live album should be. This sticks out as a wonderful time capsule of an artist and time period.

Please listen to my audio above revealing my selection of this great album and why I picked it. Enjoy!

Released in 2003, We Were All Born In a Flame is the debut full-length studio album by Montreal singer/songwriter Sam Roberts. Some of the album’s songs were re-recorded for the album, having been previously released on an EP or as singles. Roberts played most instruments on the collection, with the exception of drums, making this truly a solo effort.

I moved to Thailand in 1999 and as a result missed much of Roberts’ musical rise and popularity. During one summer visit back to Canada I heard album singles Brother Down and Where Have All The Good People Gone?, which I enjoyed but that’s where my Sam Roberts journey ended. Fast forward more than a decade and We Were All Born In a Flame randomly popped-up on a musical service, suggested as an album I might like. I gave it a listen, did again, and again, and here we are with it as my pick for June 2016.

Perhaps it was inevitable that I’d find this album sooner or later as one of the lyrics in Where Have All The Good People Gone? is “Bangkok to Babylon”. Well here I am in Bangkok, picking a Canadian artist, and delighted to have discovered more music from my homeland. I hope you enjoy this pick and discovering what is now Sam Roberts Band, focusing on the entire collective rather than the man himself.

I was in the beginning stages of writing up another selection for January when I read that Lemmy Kilmister, lead singer and ringleader of Motorhead, passed away. There were few musical icons as well established, admired, and entrenched as Lemmy, who was truly a rock God among musicians. There was no one else like him and will likely not be another father figure of hard rock like him again. He talked the talk, walked the walk, and drank the drink. It was who he was – period.

While looking at Motorhead albums online and listening to some tracks, I realized I don’t remember ever listening to a Motorhead album from start to finish. I’m about 30 years overdue, so this month’s pick is Motorhead’s seminal Ace of Spades in honor of The Man.

While this was the band’s fourth release in the UK, it was their first in North America, hitting stores in November 1980. They were clumped into what was referred to as the ‘New Wave of British Heavy Metal’, but Lemmy always insisted they were simply Rock n’ Roll. Their sound influenced countless hard rock bands, including Metallica who credits them for much of their sound.

Pour a Jack Daniel’s (Lemmy’s favorite), turn it up real loud, and strap in for Ace of Spades.

I’ve known of Stevie Wonder my entire life and a handful of his hits are familiar to me, but I’d never consumed an entire album. The time has come. After some digging to determine which of his albums is considered to be the best, Innervisions came out on top and what a treat it’s been delving in to its rich tracks.

Innervisions, Wonder’s 16th studio album, was released on August 3, 1973 (20 days before I was born!) and is cited for its exploration of popular themes at the time: drug abuse, racism, inequality, and toxic politics. The tracks are not only full of funk but challenge the listener at every turn. Jabs at then US President Richard Nixon appear, as do calls against police for their treatment of black Americans, all while keeping your toes tapping – an impressive feat.

Wonder completed this album more or less on his own, writing, producing, and playing on most tracks, relying heavily on an ARP synthesizer, which set the tone of black music to come. He played all instruments on six of nine tracks and this work firmly cemented him as one of the world’s preeminent musicians. I encourage the listener to put on headphones for an initial, undisturbed listen, to fully absorb the lyrics, before diving in to future sessions. Enjoy!

Most music fans have heard of, and likely listened to some of Cheap Trick at Budokan. The iconic live recording was released in 1979 and propelled Cheap Trick to stardom back in their home country and around the world. But this was actually their fourth album, originally recorded for Japan release only, for their rabid fans that had followed them closely since their first album in 1977. It was recorded on the heels of the release of the band’s third studio album Heaven Tonight, which is now regarded as their best studio effort.

The band formed in 1973 in Illinois, USA, and took a number of years to find the right members and gel, but once they did, they went on to crank out an impressive amount of material in a very short period of time. They released five big albums between the winter of 1977 and summer of 1979, forming the backbone of what still today comprises much of their live set. This output is seriously impressive and their sound was never better than on Heaven Tonight.

I really got in to Cheap Trick at Budokan in February 2014 and think it’s one of the best live albums ever. Their sound is so raw and authentic; it completely draws me in. But like most live albums it’s more or less a compilation of greatest hits at that time, and I’d never heard an entire Cheap Trick studio album. I’ve seen Cheap Trick guitarist and main composer Rick Nielsen perform with Foo Fighters a few times over the last couple years and this got me interested in diving a bit deeper in to the world of Cheap Trick.

So here we are – selected is what is widely considered to be the greatest studio album by Cheap Trick, a legendary rock band, referenced in countless pop culture sources over the decades, including the movie Fast Times at Ridgemont High (the first time I ever heard their name) and yours for devouring – Heaven Tonight. Enjoy the ride.